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Sunday, March 22, 2015

Crash test: Does driver deserve reimbursement for rental car costs?

"Thank goodness no one was hurt," was the first
thing a reader said after reporting that her car was one of four vehicles hit
by an oil truck earlier this month.

She learned of the accident after leaving work in the
evening to walk to her car, parked on a city street. The car was gone. When she
returning to the office, a receptionist told her about the accident. There were
plenty of witnesses, so there was no question about who was at fault. No one
was in any of the four cars when the oil truck slammed into them, causing
varying levels of damage.

Instead of heading home, the reader walked to the closest
police precinct to see where her car had been towed. Since it was after hours,
she couldn't call her insurance company or local body shop until the following
day. Police told her where her car had been taken, but their report wasn't
ready yet, so she had to return for it the next day.

Because the reader's car had been hit by another insured
vehicle, that vehicle's owner would be responsible for covering all the damage.
Her insurance agent and body shop worker helped the reader figure out how to
get the car from the tow lot to the body shop so it could be assessed and
repaired. The body owner helped her arrange for a rental car.

The reader's insurance company agreed to cover up to $25
a day for a rental car. The rental company indicated this was adequate, but the
reader later learned that the coverage would fall short by about $3 a day.
Since her damaged car would be out of commission for 2-3 weeks, she would end
paying between $50 and $75 out of pocket for the rental.

This was not a bad price for a rental car for that long,
the reader figured, but then wondered why she should have to pay anything,
given that the accident was not her fault. The oil truck company will be
responsible for damage it caused, and because the reader wasn't at fault, she
wouldn't have to pay the deductible on her insurance policy.

So what is the right thing to do? Should the reader let
things lie, or see if the oil truck company will make up the difference on the
cost of her rental car?

The right thing to do is first check with the rental car
company to see if it will give her a break on the cost of the rental car, so
she won't be out of pocket. The rental car company wasn't responsible for the
accident, either, however, so it's reasonable to suspect it will hold to its
price.

If there is a shortfall, the reader might not have any
legal recourse after her insurance company and the oil truck company's
insurance company settle on the cost of the repairs. But if she's out of pocket
any cash at all, the right thing would be for the oil truck company to reimburse
her for the difference, whether it's legally obligated to do so or not.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

She should talk to the rental car company and try for a deal equaling the allowance. She should have the body shop owner contribute at that time as he got them the business and making the body shop happy Is more important to the rentor than making her happy (he may send business again).The oil company is a stretch. They have insurance and it seems to be pretty good. She might make a stink enough to get compensated, but whomever she talks to is probably not authorized to make decisions of that type. It might be difficult to get compensation due to the nature of the request.So go for it but don't expect complete satisfaction. And consider, she could have been hit by someone without insurance and be really stuck.

Jeffrey Seglin writes "The Right Thing," a syndicated weekly ethics column distributed by Tribune Media. From 2004 to 2010, the column was distributed by The New York Times Syndicate. From 1998 to 2004, he wrote a monthly ethics column of the same name for The Sunday New York Times business section.

He is a senior lecturer of public policy and director of the communications program at Harvard's Kennedy School. He was an associate professor at Emerson College in Boston where he taught writing and ethics from 1999 until 2011.